A domain name service (DNS) is generally a directory service for translating user friendly alphanumeric names for specific computers or hosts within a computer network into computer recognizable numerical addresses. While DNS was originally developed to facilitate communications between computers via the Internet, the use of DNS is becoming increasingly common in intranet environments, especially those which employ Internet Protocol (IP) to send data from one computer to another within a network.
Intranet and Internet-connected computers utilize a numeric addressing system to locate and route communications to other computers within a network. The numeric addressing system requires that each computer connected to the Internet have its own unique numeric IP address. IP addresses are typically 32 bit addresses that are represented by a string of numbers separated by periods, such as for example, “192.168.10.100.” Since numeric addresses are difficult to remember, DNS was created to enable the pairing of domain names to specific numeric IP addresses. For example, when an Internet user types in the domain name “www.support.infoblox.com,” DNS is the intermediary system that translates the domain name to the corresponding numeric IP address, “192.168.10.100.”
There are generally two different entities which interact with the DNS server: clients and administrators. Clients are generally other computers which request IP addresses associated with specific domain names from the DNS server. Administrators are the individuals responsible for managing the DNS data stored in the DNS server.
Many large organizations, such as for example corporate intranets, commercial Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Internet content providers and educational and government institutions maintain IP based computer networks. Such organizations typically develop and maintain their own DNS servers for Internet and intranet applications. For prior art systems, establishing a DNS server usually requires the expertise of an information technology (IT) specialist and involves the selection and integration of multiple hardware and software components.
The software components in a prior art system typically include an operating system and a DNS server software package. The DNS server hardware generally consists of typical computer hardware including a processor, a hard drive, and memory. The DNS server software typically includes a DNS server engine, a database for storing DNS data and a graphical user interface (GUI) which permits the administrator to access the database. The DNS server engine responds to client requests for DNS data by retrieving the requested data from the DNS database and forwarding the retrieved data to the client.
The DNS server software can be selected from a number of prior art DNS server software packages available for purchase or a DNS software package, Berkeley Internet Domain Name (BIND), can be downloaded free of charge from the Internet Software Consortium. Since the DNS server hardware and the operating system are acquired separately from the DNS server software, DNS server software developers may be unable to create software to optimize the performance of the DNS server for particular hardware and software systems. The specifications of the DNS server hardware, such as the specific hard drive model, the processor speed, the memory size and hardware component redundancies as well as operating system parameters, such as Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) stack parameters and kernel memory allocation sizes are generally unknown to the DNS server software developers at the time they are developing such software.
Selecting appropriate hardware and an appropriate operating system for the DNS server requires research into the minimum operating system requirements and the minimum hardware requirements necessary to support the DNS server software. In addition, standard operating systems typically include a multitude of drivers that are unnecessary for the operation of a DNS server, such as for example drivers for sound cards, video cards and all available disk drives. The presence of extra drivers within the operating system creates a potential for conflicts with other DNS server software components thereby increasing the likelihood of error or malfunctions. The larger kernel size of an operating system with unnecessary drivers often results in decreased DNS server performance, such as reduced input/output throughput to the computer network and hard drive.
Following the selection of the appropriate DNS server hardware, the DNS server software requires tuning to the selected hardware to optimize the performance of the DNS server. For example, kernel buffer sizes have to be set to match the specific input/output hardware including a disk controller and network adapters.
Prior art DNS server software packages typically include a relational database for storing DNS data. DNS data generally consists of numerous data items with often complex interconnections between those items. Relational databases do not easily support complex mapping between data items and as a result multiple complex relational queries in a relational query language, such as Structured Query Language (SQL), may be required to perform simple modifications to data relationships within the database.
Prior art DNS server software packages also includes graphical user interfaces (GUIs) which permit the administrator to access the relational database. GUIs are typically installed on a single computer and accessible only on that computer by the administrator. Typically, DNS server software does not permit access to the GUIs from any networked computer within a computer network. The selection and integration of network software, such as PC Anywhere, with the DNS server system may be used to permit the administrator to access the GUI over a computer network. However, such software does not work with World Wide Web (WWW) protocols and requires special installation on every computer used to access the DNS server computer. Also, prior art DNS servers typically do not include a web based interface to access GUIs.
Prior art DNS servers may also have multiple unnecessary hardware and software access points. For example, the DNS server hardware can be accessed via a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse, a parallel port, serial ports, a network interface and a universal serial bus (USB) interface. The availability of multiple access points render the DNS server susceptible to access by unauthorized personnel. In addition, standard operating systems also include multiple access points, such as a console terminal and numerous network ports. The availability of such unnecessary access ports render the DNS server vulnerable to potential attacks from computer hackers and may also cause the DNS server to run inefficiently.